Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti dismissed speculation regarding Paris Saint-Germain star and Los Blancos transfer target Kylian Mbappe.
Madrid are reportedly in negotiations with PSG in a bid to prise Mbappe from Paris amid talk of a €170million offer plus €10million in add-ons for the France international.
Mbappe has one year remaining on his contract but Madrid are determined to sign the 22-year-old – who has scored 133 goals in 174 games for PSG – at a rate of one goal every 102.46 minutes – before the end of the transfer window.
Ancelotti was asked about Mbappe after Madrid defeated Real Betis 1-0 on Saturday, however he was unwilling to shed light on the possibility of the Frenchman moving to the Santiago Bernabeu.
"We should stick to talking about the game because the rest is a matter for the club, who are working on it," Ancelotti told reporters.
"I don't know the details at this stage."
Dani Carvajal's sublime second-half volley secured a hard-earned win for Madrid at Betis.
Carvajal had not scored for Los Blancos since November 2019, but the fit-again full-back marked his return to the side with a second-half finish after being teed up by Karim Benzema.
Benzema has been involved in five goals in his opening three games of a LaLiga season (two goals and three assists) for the first time in his Madrid career.
"The first 45 minutes was much more level and much more so than the second half," Ancelotti said when asked about Benzema.
"We tried to win the ball high up the pitch as quickly as possible and that's where [Karim] Benzema struggled a bit because he had to sit a bit deeper to try and win the ball back when we weren't in possession.
"But I think Karim made the difference today again because he had a very good cross into the box for Carvajal, and we won the game."
Roma 0-2 Atalanta: De Roon and Zaniolo make it eight Serie A wins in a row
Nicolo Zaniolo scored against his former side as Atalanta defeated Roma 2-0 at Stadio Olimpico on Monday to make it eight Serie A wins in a row and move within one point of leaders Napoli.
Marten de Roon opened the scoring in the 69th minute with a shot from the edge of the box that heavily deflected in off Zeki Celik, before substitute Zaniolo sealed the points in the final minute with a glancing header.
Claudio Ranieri was taking charge of Roma on home soil for the first time since returning for a third spell in charge and saw his side start brightly, with Leandro Paredes testing Marco Carnesecchi and Manu Kone firing just wide.
Atalanta had an Ademola Lookman goal ruled out for offside before half-time as they started to assert a little more authority on the game.
Artem Dovbyk was next to go close for Roma, forcing Carnesecchi into a good save, but Atalanta captain De Roon found the breakthrough at the other end when his deflected shot wrong-footed Mile Svilar.
Zaniolo then got his head to Juan Cuadrado's corner for Atalanta's second, which he did not hold back on celebrating with the travelling fans, as 15th-placed Roma were condemned to a fourth league loss in a row for the first time in 16 years.
EIGHT IN A ROW! #RomaAtalanta pic.twitter.com/8UQPlAsiXf
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) December 2, 2024
Data Debrief: Game goes way of the form book
This is only the second time Atalanta have ever won eight Serie A matches in a row, having previously done so between February and July 2020.
Roma's form could not be any more contrasting, as they have lost four on the spin in the league for the first time since 2008 under Luciano Spalletti.
I Giallorossi have now picked up just one point from their past four Serie A fixtures against Atalanta, losing four and drawing one of those encounters.
Wright-Phillips backs Man City to turn things around
Shaun Wright-Phillips has backed Manchester City to turn their form around and refused to rule them out of the Premier League title race.
City were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, with Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah getting the goals for the rampant Reds.
Pep Guardiola's team are winless in seven games in all competitions and have now lost their last five league matches.
Sunday's defeat left them 11 points behind Liverpool after 13 games, and their title hopes are dangling by a thread. Indeed, the Opta supercomputer gives City just a 4.3% chance of retaining the title.
But former City winger Wright-Phillips thinks his old club are still in with a chance, if they rediscover their "addiction to winning".
He told Stats Perform: "I'm very confident [in Man City]. I've been lucky enough to have been around the pre-season camps over the last two years and seen the mentality of not only the players but the manager, the coaching staff, and even the staff behind the scenes.
"They've set such high standards for themselves in terms of what they've achieved over the last four years that any dip feels like something is really wrong. But a lot of the players, like some in other teams, didn't have a full pre-season and are still trying to get minutes under their belts and get fit.
"Pep rarely makes excuses. He deals with the hand he's got and tries to find solutions. But with players coming back into the fold, like Kevin De Bruyne getting minutes and Jeremy Doku coming on to liven up the game, you can see the threats are still there.
"Chances will come. And with a man like Erling Haaland up front, I don't think they’ll have much of a problem.
"It's just about getting that first win, regaining that feeling, hunger, and addiction to winning. Once they do, I think they'll be fine."
Guardiola faced chants of "getting sacked in the morning" from the Liverpool fans on Sunday, though smiled his way through it before holding up six fingers, representing his six Premier League titles.
He also did the same towards the travelling City fans at the end of the match.
"I think it's brilliant," said Wright-Phillips. "Things like that are good for the game. It's not him being arrogant, and it's not Liverpool fans being a nuisance.
"I've played at Anfield, and it's a daunting ground to go to, but I've always had a laugh with the fans about what they say.
"If I was on the bench, I'd turn around and just laugh at it. They have good banter, and as soon as Pep responded, they laughed, and it kind of went away.
"It shows there's mutual respect. There's not much more they could have sung about Pep apart from something funny because what he’s achieved within the game — period, not just in the Premier League — is phenomenal."
City host Nottingham Forest in their next Premier League game on Wednesday.
Kelly and Kirby ruled out of England friendly with Switzerland
Chloe Kelly and Fran Kirby will miss England's friendly with Switzerland on Tuesday, manager Sarina Wiegman has confirmed.
Forward Kelly will be absent due to concussion protocols, while midfielder Kirby is absent with a calf problem.
Both players were brought on as substitutes in England's goalless draw with the United States at Wembley on Saturday.
Speaking ahead of the showdown with Switzerland at Bramall Lane, Wiegman revealed she intends to rotate her side.
Millie Bright, an unused substitute last time out, is one of those who will get game time in Sheffield.
"It was a hard decision," Wiegman told BBC Sport on her decision not to use Brighton against USA.
"We've played four defenders the most in the last period so I chose to balance it out against USA.
"Of course, that's very hard for Millie. Against Switzerland she will play and I'm happy that she is fit and can take that opportunity."
Last time the #Lionesses played at Bramall Lane!
Sealing our spot in the #WEURO2022 FINAL pic.twitter.com/ZWf0OX4ykl
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) December 2, 2024
England are unbeaten in 11 previous meetings with Switzerland, winning all but one of those.
The Lionesses have only faced Finland (13 times) and Northern Ireland (12 times) more often without ever losing in their history.
However, Wiegman is expecting a difficult contest against a side ranked 25th in the world – some 23 places below England.
"I think they will be hard to break down," Wiegman said. "They play in a really compact way but are not scared to get in behind quickly. We have warned about those situations."
This will be England's fourth game at Bramall Lane, having won each of the previous three by an aggregate score of 11-0.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
